title: Clinical validity of NIMHANS neuropsychological battery for elderly: A preliminary report.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Neuropsychological assessment plays a crucial role in the assessment of cognitive decline in older age. In India, there is a dearth of culturally appropriate standardized measure to assess cognitive functions in early dementia. The aim of the study was to examine clinical validity of NIMHANS Neuropsychological Battery for Elderly (NNB-E) in identifying early dementia.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To examine validity (discriminant and concurrent) of NIMHANS Neuropsychological Battery for Elderly (NNB-E).
  
  
  RESULTS
  Participants with AD showed significantly poorer performance on every test including memory and non-memory domains. However, tests of episodic and semantic memory were particularly sensitive in discriminating between normal and AD groups. Further scores on various subtests in the NNB-E were positively associated with scores on HMSE and negatively associated with Clinical Dementia Rating and Everyday Abilities Scale for India (EASI) scores.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  NNB-E was able to differentiate normal controls from AD patients, and it can therefore be an ecologically valid tool for Indian older adults.
authors.affiliation: Narayana Hrudayalaya, Bangalore, Karnataka, India.
authors.forename: Ravikesh
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Tripathi
authors.forename: Janakiprasad Kumar
authors.initials: JK
authors.lastname: Kumar
authors.forename: Srikala
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Bharath
authors.forename: Palaniappan
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Marimuthu
authors.forename: Mathew
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Varghese
keywords: Cognitive assessment; dementia of Alzheimer's type; neuropsychological test; validity